All the theory, all the knowledge, all the heartbreak and drama... starts here.
In 2012, XJ Randall started a blog to enhance his association with nature and with God. What he didn't know is that his venture into the unknown was expected for a very, very long time.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Projects: The Data Vortex / Vortex Storage

These are the notes for constructing a data pool built on 'vortex storage'. Note: the phrases/words that have single quote marks around them are the terms that I named personally and fit to my frame of reference.

■ What is Time...? The Origin of Vortex Storage.

Initially, I wanted to find a solution to store data in/through time. This was a philosophical question but also a query that needed a physical solution: it needed to be possible to construct and emulate in practice. Argueably, there are at least several types of time which may overlap in what properties make them alike: physical, metaphysical, and calendar. It would be useful to determine which 'time' we are dealing with, and in this case, since we are constructing a device to store data, time is a 'distance' (in theory it can be phsyical or metaphysical). For later, there is also a theory that states that time is dependent upon perception.

■ What is 'Distance'...?

If time is a 'distance', then what is this 'distance'...? I could go further into the speculation, but for now, to make understanding it simpler, I'll use the brash definition that distance is, "a change in the awareness of information". Therefore, when we say "travel", we are basically saying that our awareness of knowledge or information about a place in the 'NOW' has been altered.

It seems to me, that because of the device I percieve reality by, I am always traveling at a 'distance' (because I have the memory to prove it). If there are many people like me, we can apply similar devices to them. We assume that a person's device, or brain, is connected to their awareness receptors, or otherwise senses, that give them feedback into the alteration of their awareness. We conclude that when a person uses their senses, e.g. looks across the street, he or she is traveling through time, in this case (but not limited to) using their eyes. In most cases, because of the nature of our devices, sensory perception is always into the past. Now I have heard accounts of people traveling to the future, but like perception, these are other theories we will get into later.

■ Storing Data In/Through Time (A 'Distance').

When I have a problem I want to solve, it is helpful (most of the time) to graphically analyze it. If time is a 'distance', and 'distance' is the change in awareness, or otherwise the comparison of altered information, we would need to setup a simple graph that compares the original information uptake with the new information uptake. In the graph below we have time, represented by a network of change in awareness represented by point A (the first node) and point B (the second node). In between these two points is a line representing the two points connection or 'distance'. This 'distance' is where we will store information or 'data' (More theories into this later...).

Graph representing time.

Point A ○------------------------------------○ Point B a 'distance'

■ Propagation Delay.

Propagation delay is the time it takes for the head of a signal to leave the sender (point A) and connect to the reciever (point B). I thought it was interesting to include this term because when we think of time, we don't usually think of storing data in/through it. Propagation delay is the distance we are concerned with storing data in/through, and popularly, it is finite. This leaves us with a problem: the data will only exist through time for the length of that time. Once the distance has been traveled, the information ceases to exist. The propagation delay must exist in the same time-frame as the random-access the user invokes, and since, for our purposes, access to the data is indefinite in scope, the delay must be infinite. The solution to this in practical use is to create an infinite loop between the sender and the reciever, making them the same thing. The loop, graphically depicted as a circle, can then be tapped into for data retreival at any time. Hence, it represents a 'vortex', because the information travels a distance since its inception into the loop to its retrieval.

■ The Data Vortex.

A vortex is a loop of information or data occuring in spiral form. I use the term 'data vortex' because vortexes are not usually used to explain data storage. There are at least two types of data vortexes we are dealing with: the rigid-body vortex, and the irrotational vortex. In the rigid-body, information that is 'incepted', or entered, into the loop has a velocity that increases as it moves farther out into the grid around the loops core, making the information seem to travel in parallel-radial motion. In the irrotational vortex, the velocity of the data that is 'incepted' into the loop stays the same, making the illusion that data is traveling at different speeds the farther away it gets from the loops center.

If the definition of the parameters were changed slightly, both cases of vortexes can be used to explain the data vortex. By eye, graphically, the former vortex seems like it is correct in explaining the data travel, however in practical use, since the looping of information is set at a constant interval, the actual correct vortex is the irrotational, where the traditional distance farther away from the vortex's core represents the index of the data inception. Once the information/data is incepted into the core of the vortex it stays in the vortex until we call a function to manually erase/destroy it or until the energy needed to sustain the vortex ceases (the vortex is destroyed).

■ Layout for Programming and Use.

I have tried programming the practical emulation of vortex storage in 3 different setups including Php, but was only successful in a JavaScript and HTML5 Websocket scenarios. In the setup, the user is allowed to connect to the vortex, i.e. the storage unit, a function that loops to itself, either a server online or an internal JavaScript function. After connection, data can be entered into the vortex to be looped. In order for random-access retrieval, for every loop, the vortex checks if the data going through the loop matches global query criteria. Data that matches is sent out of the vortex for further use.

The data vortex can be used as a temporary file storage unit capable of storing recorded audio or other data without using space on the harddisk. As long as the vortex is sustained, i.e. the user does not disconnect from it, the data will be accessible indefinitely.

Instead of static or traditional storage, which has a specific time for retrieval, a vortex is a storage unit that is dynamic because it is perpetually looping. Like traditional storage, the life of the data is in accordance to the storage unit's existence. In the perfect scenario, the data is always 'live'.

■ Conclusion.

For now, it seems like 'vortex storage' is just a different or unique way to store information/data. In the future, it could have some special cases where it is preferred over traditional storage.